Dutch multinational AkzoNobel, known for its paint brands such as Procolor, Bruguer and Titanlux, has announced a 14 million euro investment to expand its paint production center in Barcelona and Vilafranca del Penedès.
The objective of this investment is to relocate the production of paints and coatings for the automotive sector to Catalonia.
This initiative will increase production and promote research and development in this field, generating 80 new jobs.
The Barcelona factory, located in the Zona Franca, currently employs 566 workers. With this new investment, it will become the group’s main production center for automotive paints in Europe.
The Department of Enterprise of the Generalitat has shown its support for AkzoNobel’s decision through ACCIÓ and the General Directorate of Industry.
Akzonobel has already been betting on the Catalan capital.
This is not the first time AkzoNobel has shown its commitment to Barcelona.
At the end of 2021, the company announced the creation of a hub in the city for the planning and management of all production plants and warehouses in Europe, resulting in the creation of 65 skilled jobs, mostly engineers.
In addition, last year they opened the Colour Development Lab in the Zona Franca, a 600 square meter laboratory dedicated to the design of color formulas for the automotive sector.
Sergio Olivas, AkzoNobel’s production manager for Western Europe, stresses the importance of consolidating development and manufacturing activities for the automotive market in Barcelona to ensure future competitiveness and create skilled jobs in the chemical sector.
The transfer of products and the commitment to innovation and development contribute to fostering a local entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region.
A strategic investment
The Minister of Enterprise and Employment, Roger Torrent, highlighted the relevance of AkzoNobel’s investment as an example of the reindustrialization of Catalonia, with a focus on sustainability and circular economy.
Catalonia stands out as one of the leading territories in Europe in the chemical and automotive sectors.
With a presence in more than 150 countries, AkzoNobel has two factories in the Zona Franca, an industrial paint plant in Vilafranca del Penedès and a powder paint plant in Vallirana.
In total, the company employs 1,140 people in Catalonia and has been able to expand in the region following the acquisition of the decorative paints division of the Catalan company Titan in 2020.
Among the brands it manufactures and markets are Procolor, Sikkens, Bruguer, Titanlux and Xylazel.
AkzoNobel’s new investment will contribute to economic and technological development in the automotive sector in Catalonia.
